MILAN SHOW: Suzuki DL250 V-Strom

DL250 V-Strom promises all-round fun at a budget price

This is a really cute move from Suzuki, taking the hugely popular V-Strom family styling and ethos, and blending it with an evolution of their bulletproof 248cc parallel-twin to create a funky and fresh economy adventure bike. Likely to be just as at home on a rough and muddy country lane as it is bouncing over kerbs in the urban jungle, this 24.7bhp addition to the family has a wide breadth of appeal that could see it get some real traction in 2017 – no pun intended.

Set to be a full-size bike, it gives full-size humans an almost unprecedented (from a mainstream manufacturer) opportunity to have comfort, economy, and versatility from a small-capacity adventure-styled bike. Maybe even better than that, it doesn’t look like an apologetic lash-up – as many smaller capacity bikes can. In fact, it could even be the best-looking Strom in the family.

Highlights

• New 250 model
• Optional hard panniers
• 110/80 17 front, 140/70 17 rear
• 300+ mile tank range
• 12v power outlet

The facts 

• 24.7bhp
• 190kg (est)
• Seat height 800mm (est)

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While the design is all-new, the underpinnings are recognisably Inazuma 250 based, and shared with the Suzuki’s other great-looking new-for-2017 250, the GSX250R. There’s practicality here in spades, too. The large aluminium luggage rack can cope with a decent 8.5kg payload, and the subframe rails are designed to also be the mounts for the optional (and attractive) hard-case panniers. The 17-litre tank is claimed to provide over 300 miles of tank range, there’s a good size screen to hide behind, high and wide bars, a plush seat and a pleasing lack of hard-to-clean clutter you often get with adventure styling.

ABS is standard, and provided by Bosch, while the braking hardware itself appears budget, but good enough for the job, and includes petal discs.

There’s also a well-spec’d all-LCD dash to provide all the information you could possibly need as you negotiate your riding environment. If Suzuki can set an attractive price tag, this could be a rampant success when it arrives in dealers in summer 2017.

 

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